Robert Doornbos Jerez test notes

On the first official day in Jerez Dutchman Robert Doornbos topped the leader board with a lap time of 1:32.33 ahead of fellow F3000 debutant Nico Rosberg who was testing for Coloni. Doornbos, who was also debutant on a F3000 car, spent his first day in Jerez (yesterday) to adapt to his Arden F3000. In particular he spoke a lot with his engineer in order to better understand the behaviour of the 460hp single-seater, the engine power, the braking points on this demanding but fantastic track and to improve his feeling with the team. Today then, Robert could push and set a quickest time with new tyres. Team Arden Boss, Christian Horner, was impressed by his easy and fast adaptation to the car, very different from the F3 Robert has always been used to drive.

I was extremely impressed," said Horner. "He built up to it and then put it all together on a new set of tyres. He's potentially very good." "Robert did an excellent job coping with the transition from F3 extremely well and recorded a very competitive time".

Robert Doornbos commented: "It was a really amazing and exciting experience for me, for the first time, on a F3000 car! I've really enjoyed this test and have been really impressed with the performance of the Arden F3000 car. The grip on new tyres is quite dramatic and I was pleased with the time I was able to achieve. I spent all the day, yesterday, to talk with my engineer and to better understand this car. This morning we also simulated a pit-stop. I would also like to thank Doct. Riccardo Ceccarelli and Formula Medicine (www.formulamedicine.com) for the physical and athletic preparation they gave me because after the test I was absolutely in perfect shape".

<pre> Formula 3000 Jerez test times (unofficial)

Pos     Driver                  Team    Time
1       Robert Doornbos         Arden   1m32.33s
2       Nico Rosberg            Coloni  1m32.57s
3       Tony Schmidt            Ma-Con  1m33.24s
4       Raffaele Giammaria      Durango 1m33.75s
5       Norbert Siedler         Coloni  1m33.97s
6       Toshihiro Kaneishi      Ma-Con  1m34.31s
7       James Rossiter          Arden   1m34.57s
8       Ferdinando Monfardini   Durango 1m36.75s

On Sunday, 9th November, Robert will be leaving for Macao and Korea F3 International races where he will be driving for Team Menu Motorsport.

-www.robertdoornbos.com-